Tag Archive: Health

Price cuts on 350 medicines in Switzerland

With the ever rising cost of of Swiss healthcare, the government has been hunting for savings. This week it announced that it has ordered price cuts on 350 medicines from 1 December 2023, reported RTS.

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Proposal for budget Swiss health insurance

Last weekend, the PLR/FDP unveiled a plan to create a budget low cost health insurance option in Switzerland, reported RTS.

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Swiss health office and pharma firm at odds over flu spray

The Swiss health authorities and the manufacturer AstraZeneca are at loggerheads over a nasal spray to vaccinate children and adolescents against influenza.

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Switzerland may have passed 6th Covid peak

Data published this week on 19 July 2022, suggest that 6th wave Covid-19 infections in Switzerland may have peaked. Data published by Switzerland’s Federal Office of Public Health show 46,099 new cases over the 7 days to 18 July 2022. Over the prior 7 days there were 55,339 cases. Recorded cases have dropped 17% week on week.

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Higher federal tax deductions for health insurance announced

The cost of Swiss health insurance has risen sharply over the years. However, the amount that can be deducted from income to calculate federal taxes has remained comparatively low. This week, Switzerland’s parliament voted in favour of closing the gap between the standardised health insurance tax deductions and what people actually pay, reported RTS.

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Public Healthcare Threatens Liberty in the U.S.

Despite higher healthcare costs, Americans receive better healthcare, provided by the individually tailored healthcare plans, courtesy of the private sector. 

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Average annual healthcare costs hit 9,600 francs in Switzerland in 2020

Statistics published on 26 April 2022 show health expenditure in Switzerland rose to CHF 9,648 (US$ 10,8001) per person in 2020, making Switzerland (probably) the second biggest per-capita healthcare spender in the world – the OECD has not yet published 2020 expenditure for the US, which is typically the world’s highest spender.

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Swiss health insurance could jump by 9 percent next year

According to the newspaper Le Matin Swiss health insurance premiums could rise by 7% to 9%, reported RTS. The future rise in the cost of health insurance is estimated based on data on the rising healthcare costs being passed on to health insurance companies. According to the data, costs rose during the second half of 2021. Across all of 2021 costs were up by 5.1% and the trend appears to have continued.

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Switzerland to drop all Covid restrictions

On 30 March 2022, Switzerland’s government announced the end of all measures aimed at reducing the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus from 1 April 2022. Currently, the only federal measures left are the requirement to wear masks on public transport and in health facilities and the obligation to self-isolate after infection with the disease.

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Covid cases up 42% in a week in Switzerland

This week, 171,085 new Covid-19 cases were reported in Switzerland, up 42% from the 120,901 cases reported a week earlier. In addition, the reported number of Covid-19 patients hospitalised leapt too. This week 482 were admitted, up 37% from 352 the week before. Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.comThe 7-day average case number had been in constant decline since the end of January 2022. However, the number of new cases turned upwards towards the...

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Covid: weekly cases and hospitalisations rising again in Switzerland

This week, 120,9017 new Covid-19 cases were reported in Switzerland, up 24% from the 97,335 cases reported a week earlier. In addition, the reported number of Covid-19 patients hospitalised edged up slightly from 340 to 352 compared to the week before. Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.comThe 7-day average case number had been in constant decline since the end of January. However, the number began to turn upwards in the days leading up to the end...

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Covid: weekly cases and hospitalisations fall further as Switzerland drops nearly all measures

This week, 118,555 new Covid-19 cases were reported in Switzerland, down 25% from the 157,683 cases reported a week earlier. The reported number of Covid-19 patients hospitalised also fell 20% from 492 to 392 across the week. Photo by Polina Tankilevitch on Pexels.comCovid-19 deaths were also down. Across the week, 61 Covid-19 related deaths were reported, a figure 13% lower than the 70 reported the week before. In addition, the number of...

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Overwhelming majority of ICU patients in Switzerland unvaccinated, show data

On 25 January 2022, a study published by Zurich University Hospital found that 97% of Covid-19 ICU patients since the start of Switzerland’s Covid-19 vaccination campaign were unvaccinated.

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Switzerland writes off small portion of flight repatriation bill

The majority of stranded Swiss people repatriated during the first pandemic wave have paid back their share of flight bills. But the foreign ministry has been forced to write off CHF210,000 ($230,000) and is still haggling over another CHF360,000.

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Switzerland set to tax e-cigarettes

On 17 December 2021, Switzerland’s Federal Council put forward a plan to tax the liquids used for e-cigarettes, reported RTS. The Federal Council is proposing a tax similar to the tax on tobacco but at a lower rate in line with e-cigarettes’ lower toxicity. The government does not want to discourage tobacco smokers from transitioning to e-cigarettes and proposes a rate 77% lower than the tax on tobacco cigarettes.

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Majority of Swiss in favour of compulsory vaccination, according to poll

According to poll results published over the weekend, 53% of those surveyed in Switzerland were in favour of making Covid-19 vaccinations compulsory, a percentage that rose to 69% for those working in the health sector, reported 20 Minutes.

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American farmers pursue Syngenta over herbicide’s link to Parkinson’s disease

The Swiss-based multinational has already set aside $187.5 million (CHF 171 million) to settle legal cases filed by farmers exposed to paraquat. But the total bill could run into billions as lawsuits pile up.

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Zermatt restaurant operators in prison after defying Covid rules

Over the weekend the owners of a family-run restaurant were taken into police custody for defiantly operating their restaurant in contravention of Switzerland’s Covid rules, reported 20 Minutes.

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Covid: new cases up 30 percent this week in Switzerland

This week, 10,148 new cases of Covid-19 were reported in Switzerland, up 30% from the 7,818 recorded the week before. On a 7-day moving average basis, the number of daily new cases was 1,450.

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Last authorised protest in Bern ahead of anti-Covid vote takes place peacefully

Last weekend, several thousand protestors assembled outside the Federal Palace in Bern to voice their opposition to Switzerland’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic, reported Tribune de Genève.

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